I don’t think that Mike Hesson will play Babar Azam at no 4 again in the next game: Basit Ali

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali reckons that Babar Azam wouldn’t make it to the playing XI in the team’s next group stage game against the USA, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, February 10, in Colombo.

Notably, Babar could score only 15 runs in 18 balls at a strike rate of 83.33 in the game against the Netherlands before the all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe dismissed him. For the unversed, Pakistan suffered a middle-order collapse. However, Faheem Ashraf’s cameo helped them come out of the tense situation, winning the game by three wickets.

“I have a feeling that Babar will not play in Pakistan’s next game. The anger I saw on coach Mike Hesson’s face… I don’t think that he will play Babar at no 4 again in the next game,” Basit Ali said on the YouTube show The Game Plan, where he was joined by Kamran Akmal.

“If you call Babar Azam a superstar in ODIs or Tests, I might still agree. But in T20Is? Kahaan se superstar hai? (How is he a superstar?) A batter who drops down from his regular batting position and comes out to bat at no 4, and cannot even tell the management that he’s not a no 4 batter! Doesn’t Babar know this?” Basit Ali asked.

“Even a club cricketer will tell you that in T20s, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf… they are all better players in the format than Babar! Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub are also better T20 players than Babar. Even Salman Ali Agha has shown that he’s a better player at No 3 than Babar. After what Steve Smith did with Babar Azam in the Big Bash League, people haven’t wisened up! He denied a single just to prevent Babar from getting on strike. His game is not suited (to T20s),” he added.

To this, Kamran said: “Zabardasti fit kar rahe hain at no 4. (The management is forcibly fitting him at No 4). Why do we keep playing games like these against teams like the Netherlands? Because you’re not making a system. You’re obliging players!”

To this, Basit Ali asked: “Has Babar Azam ever won us a game by batting when the required rate was 10 runs per over?”

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